2024 Summer Scouting Series: Wide Receiver

A return of our Summer Scouting Series here at Steelers Depot, where we highlight the 2024 NFL Draft prospects that are making waves before the start of the 2024 college football season. This year, we’ll highlight several position groups the Steelers may be interested in, as well as three to four names Pittsburgh may be interested in once the pre-draft process gets underway. This edition: Wide Receiver

#3 LUTHER BURDEN III, WR, MISSOURI – 5-11, 208 POUNDS

As we sit here, many experts in the draft community are calling Missouri’s Luther Burden III the best wide receiver prospect in this upcoming draft class. The former five-star recruit from St. Louis dominated both on and off the field and was a star basketball and football player. He was able to pick and choose the schools he wanted to attend, with Alabama and Georgia at the top of the list.

Still, Burden decided to stay close to home and transferred to Missouri, where he caught 45 passes for 375 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman in 2022 before breaking out in 2023 with 86 pass catches for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns.

A similar player to former LSU WR Malik Nabers, who was drafted by the New York Giants as a top-10 pick this spring, Burden is a playmaker who can hurt you in a variety of ways on offense. He has instant start at the snap of the football as well as impressive long-range speed and acceleration to get past opposing defenses and make short passes over the distance. He also has a strong, dense frame that makes him a dangerous YAC threat after the catch, as he also carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns in college.

While he doesn’t have ideal size, Burden is an electrifying playmaker who can carry the ball and follow it all over the field, making him a versatile weapon that NFL teams will want in their offense next spring.

#4 TETAIROA MCMILLAN, WR, ARIZONA – 6-5, 210 POUNDS

The Arizona Wildcats had a great 2023 season, and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was a big reason for the offense’s success. The 6’5″, 215-pound, speedy specimen dominated in his second season in the Pac-12, recording 90 pass catches for 1,402 yards (15.6 YPR) and ten touchdowns.

The Waimanalo, Hawaii native prepped at Servite High School in California and developed into one of the top recruits in the country according to Rivals and is considered a five-star prospect. He uses his combination of size and muscle to assert himself on the field and in the red zone, as well as being a YAC threat after the catch, and has the energy and vision to create with the ball in his hands.

McMillan is an above-the-basket shot specialist and poses a threat on defense and in the end zone thanks to his catch radius. He has been productive since stepping on the field in his freshman season in Arizona and is poised for a great 2024 season that could cement his status as a top-20 pick.

McMillan is cut from a similar cloth to Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans and could increase his draft value tremendously if he continues to show excellent performance as a route runner in addition to his physical skills.

#2 EMEKA EGBUKA, WR, OHIO STATE – 6-1, 206 POUNDS

Emeka Egbuka was a top-ten pick in the 2024 NFL Draft last season. He had a stellar sophomore season for the Buckeyes in 2022, catching 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns, as well as 11 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. However, an ankle injury caused Egbuka to miss some time and be hampered throughout the season, managing just 515 yards and four touchdowns, so he will return in 2024 for his final season.

Egbuka is a versatile receiver who has good size, quickness, athleticism and route-running ability and can play both outside and in the slot. He has a strong build, which makes him a problem for defenses after the catch, but his speed also allows him to attack secondary defenses further down the field.

He is considered the top dog in Ohio State’s passing attack and if he stays healthy for the 2024 season, his stats should return to 2022 levels and he should be expected to secure a place in the first round of the draft.

#7 EVAN STEWART, WR, OREGON – 6-0, 175 POUNDS

Evan Stewart transferred from Texas A&M to the Oregon Ducks this spring, giving Oregon another top playmaker on the outside after wide receiver Troy Franklin was lost in the NFL Draft this spring. Stewart has a similarly slender frame to Franklin, but is smaller: He stands 6’0″ and weighs 175 pounds at his listed height and weight.

However, the former five-star recruit from Memphis plays much bigger than his listed size would suggest, hovering over the basket in numerous contested catch situations and also coming down in tough situations against defensive backs, showcasing his leaping ability, body control, sideline awareness and strong hands on the catch.

Stewart is a true junior and has only managed 91 catches for 1,163 yards and six touchdowns in his first two seasons, but he is a threat to make big plays just waiting to happen.

Playing in a more dynamic offense like Oregon’s, where he has more opportunities all over the field as well as in the short and intermediate quadrants of the field where he can better showcase his route-running skills, could lead to a great 2024 season and entice him to declare early for the 2025 NFL Draft.